April 2008

April 30, 2008

Sorry, life has gotten in the way of my blogging this week. Sadly, a very dear friend passed away last week and my husband and I drove down to Los Angeles for his funeral. Our friend was Carl Belfor, a man of so many talents and fine attributes that this post would go on until next week if I were to list them all. One of his many skills was as a painter, and I am a very lucky woman to have one of his works.

Whether or not you believe in an afterlife, this is what I think about our friend: He lived his life fully, mentored many people, was adored by hundreds of friends and colleagues, and never had a day where he didn't make others howl with laughter due to his amazing sense of humor. He gave to others far more than he took. He loved one and all with an open heart and he was loved back by all of us. What else could you ask for? You will be missed Carl. You were taken from us way too soon.

April 28, 2008

One of the activities planned for the Quilting Retreat was a UFO exchange. We were all supposed to go through our UFO's and choose one to trade or give away while up at the retreat. The theory being one person's garbage is another person's treasure and all that. So, in preparation for the exchange, I stood up on a chair to reach the very top shelf of my stash closet, and started to bring down plastic project boxes that contained long forgotten projects that had been begun, then abandoned. Darn, I am good at that.

Believe me, I found plenty of material to give away or trade, but also found a couple of things that were seriously good. How could I have forgotten all these red and white half square triangles that were *already made*???? Not pressed and trimmed, but totally sewn. Hundreds of them. Eureaka! Now this was a discovery all right.

The only problem was, I have no recollection of what on earth my original intention was for these 2 1/2 inch half square triangles. Well, no problem. There are plenty more ideas where that came from. I started going through my quilting books for inspiration and came up with a few ideas and made up a couple of blocks. So what do you all think? Lady Of The Lake or this other block, which I think is called Union Square.

I feel as if I have struck gold. How could I have forgotten about these? Never mind any cracks about too much white wine destroying my brain cells. There was also quite a nice stash of barn reds and some toiles in the box.

Oh, by the way, take a look at this cool ruler I found in a shop with Lisa. It is by Eleanor Burns and is called The Fussy Cut Ruler. You buy the pack and it contains these rulers in three different sizes. I show the 6 1/2 inch square above. Pretty nifty for getting your design right smack in the center of the square, huh?

OK, back to my red and white quilt. Finding this treasure trove of triangle squares has made me think how charming a two color quilt is. Blue and white, red and white, green and white---you decide what color way you want to collect and go for it. The result is an old fashioned, yet totally delightful quilt. Half the fun is in the hunt for the perfect fabrics in your color choice. Anyone out there up for a Two Color Quilt Challenge? Your choice of any two colors, your choice of any quilt block. Come on, it could be fun. Besides, I need encouragement to actually finish something!

April 18, 2008

I am so excited! Today is the day my friend Lisa (Stashmaster) flies down to California for a visit and to attend the quilting retreat I have organized. I pick her up at the San Jose airport at 8:30 AM, and we will spend the rest of the day hitting all the quiltshops between San Jose and Danville. Our first stop will be Prairiequeen's where April told me we could enjoy some VIP shopping before the store is even open! Then we'll go to The Granary, Eddie's Quilting Bee, The Quilter's Studio, Laurel Leaf, and In Between Stitches. I will take tons of pictures so you all can share my local quilt shop haunts.

All my projects are set up and ready to go, my sewing kit checked and double checked, all my sewing machines are tested and dusted, the snack food and drinks are packed. All I need is to figure out what clothes to wear. Maybe I should keep it simple and just wear my jammies all weekend.

I even got the rules for how to play Left, Right, Center from Tami in Maine! Thanks so much Tami, that is going to be very entertaining for all the gals at the retreat. It turns out that you need a special set of dice with the letters L, C, R on them. Everyone starts out with three fat quarters. When the dice gets rolled, you pass a fat quarter according to the letters on the dice. The game ends when one person ends up with ALL the fat quarters. Doesn't that sound like fun!?? There will be ten of us playing, so someone could end up with enough fat quarters to make a fun scrappy quilt.

After the retreat I am taking Lisa to my father's house to experience one of our family Sunday dinners. There should be quite a crowd, since everyone is dying to meet her. My sisters Andrea and Trish are in charge of dinner, so it will be terrific. Then, I am spiriting Lisa down to Salinas where I live and will treat her to a day and a half of exploring the Monterey Bay area. She will get to meet Ozzie. Dum dum dum dum. I hope he behaves himself and doesn't eat any of her shoes. How embarrassing would that be?

As you can tell, I am very excited about the upcoming weekend. I will be too busy to blog, but expect tons of stories and pictures when things calm down. How I wish all of you blogging friends could be with us! Wheee! Here I go!

April 17, 2008

Ozzie and I continue to attend dog training classes. Our instructor is a lovely, blond, fit, tough as nails young woman who is a police officer. We are fortunate that she is available to teach dog training classes on her day off. She is working towards becoming in charge of the Canine Unit on her force, and it seems to me that she has all the skills and knowlege to achieve that goal in no time. When she comes to class, she brings her magnificent Doberman Pinscher "Gene" along with her. Gene is a fabulously well mannered dog, who flops down on the floor and sits patiently until the class is over. Gene is a model dog.

So, what's the problem? Ozzie despises Gene with something bordering on a manic obsession. Doesn't like him one bit. Did Gene ever do anything untoward to Ozzie? Absolutely not. The only thing Gene has that Ozzie may resent are two intact testicles. Ozzie may not have gotten over the loss of his own, which was a part of the agreement we made with the breeder when we adopted him.

Ozzie growls, Ozzie snaps, Ozzie makes the most dreadful strangling noises in his effort to get at Gene, who outweighs him by a good 40 pounds. It is quite a scene. I have never seen this side to Ozzie. It is a real Dr. Jeckyll/ Mr. Hyde situation. Our teacher is able to work with Ozzie and get him under control, but is this situation ever embarrassing to me. At the end of the hour, Ozzie seems to have gotten tired of me jerking his collar and correcting him, and usually is willing to look the other way and not make eye contact with Gene. Did anyone ever mention that Welsh Terriers are stubborn, willful, determined, and have amazing focus when it comes to doing exactly what THEY want to do? Oh, and that they are hard to train?

I just don't get it. Ozzie loves to play with other dogs at the dog park, and he loves to play with the other dogs in the family. I have never seen him act unfriendly ever. Except toward Gene. He gets along perfectly with all the other creatures he meets. You can see below how he and another dog at the dog park are sharing a toy. And he is great with Remy. They have a game they play where they pass a toy back and forth to each other and then chase all around the house. Ozzie has always played great with others. So what is the deal with Gene? Have you ever met anyone you just despised on sight? Same here, but I don't try to kill them. Sigh.

April 16, 2008

I've been planning a quilting retreat that is scheduled for this Friday, and I need some ideas for games to play with the girls while we are there. I have heard of a game that is played with fat quarters that sounds like it would be really fun. It is called Left Center Right. At the end of the game one person ends up with all the fat quarters.

Do any of you know how to play this game? What are the rules? How does it work?

If you have played any other games at retreats, I would love to know what they are! Please share!

Suzy tagged me to list seven weird things about myself. The mind boggles. Me? Weird? If you only knew. I will try to come up with seven odd things that won't be TMI. OK, here goes.

1) My husband and I eloped. We ran off to Reno and got married in one of those drop-in wedding chapels. In retrospect, this wasn't such a great idea. Not that he hasn't worked out, but it was very upsetting to my parents and siblings. As well as being completely out of character for me. Tacky tacky. I was meant to be a Princess Bride, and never got the chance.

2) I sucked my thumb until I was a teenager. Having sleep overs with my girlfriends shamed me out of it.

3) My first job was working at the candy counter at JCPenny's. As a result, I can take or leave candy and do not particularly care for chocolate. When I got home from work, I used to eat fresh oranges to get the taste of candy out of my mouth.

4) I love shoes. I even give names to some of them.

5) I collect cookbooks.

6) My fabric stash is larger than necessary.

7) I spoil my dog Ozzie dreadfully. He is very very naughty, but I can't resist his charms. Here he is sitting in my husband's favorite chair like he owns it.

OK, so now I feel a little too exposed. I am very odd indeed. Without a doubt. Do you still like me?

Don't think I will tag anyone. Maybe this was all a bit TMI after all.

April 14, 2008

Since I had to get all this stuff up off the floor so we could shampoo the rug in the sewing room, I finally forced myself to label and arrange my works in progress. I can't tell you how good this feels, to finally address my current issue of too many unfinished projects. I counted up to 20 quilts that I have begun, and for whatever reason, have abandoned. After I got to 20, I decided not to torment myself any longer. What ever this situation is, it just IS. (Several words come to mind--compulsive, wasteful, pathetic, but we aren't going sink into a morass of self-blame and recrimination).

As my friend Karen Dianne said, "Well goodness gracious The Rigid Quilter has moved in at your house. I'm glad she's gone from here". She's here all right, and kicking my bony bottom to get me to straighten up and FINISH something. (Ridgid Quilter, that is, not Karen Dianne).

Am I going to face the music and tackle these barely begun and half finished works? Yes. Really. In order, here is my plan: Posh Baskets, Garden Fence, Toulouse, Web Sampler. I know that is only four, but I have to start somewhere. If I make a huge list of all of these unmade quilts, it will just be way too daunting. Four quilts I can handle. I will take a couple of them with me on the retreat next weekend, and my friends, I promise I will have something to show for my time at the monastery, sewing for three days!

One very cool thing about getting into my stash closet for a tidying, is that I discovered several fatquarter bundles I had forgotten I have! Sonnet, Trick or Treat Smell My Feet, Wuthering Heights. It sure feels good to get a grip on what I have. And to think about what I can let go of. My friends at the retreat are going to be the recipients of some rather nice goodies that I am ready to say bye bye to.

April 12, 2008

Lisa comes in six days! Oh my gosh. This house is a mess. I can't let her see it like this. When my husband looked at me fondly this morning and said, "What shall we do with this beautiful Saturday?", he was definitely NOT expecting my answer. "We need to shampoo the carpets".

He has been working like mad, and things are looking better. I just love supervising projects like this.

I am tremendously excited about the upcoming quilting retreat to the monastery next weekend. The monks are used to hosting religious retreats, and it took some persuading to make them understand that to some of us quilting is a religion. It is our second annual visit to San Damiano, which is tucked away in the hills above Danville in the East Bay. This time there are 12 of us quilters who will be attending. I cannot wait to introduce you to each of them, and show you the amazing projects they surely will be working on. The most exciting thing is, my friend Lisa (Stashmaster) from Washington is coming down to join us! I will be taking her to all my favorite quilt shops and then to see some sights down here in the Monterey area.

Better get busy, I have LOTS to do to get ready! Happy weekend everyone!

April 07, 2008

This weekend, I had an opportunity to reflect and put a few things into perspective. I live a privileged life compared to many folks. I don't always see it that way, grumbling about the price of gas, or the outrageous price my hairdresser charges me for color and cut, how I have to give up wild salmon until the supply goes back up. I have my struggles financially, to be sure, but there is nothing like having a garage sale to bring me down to earth and see how fortunate I am compared to so many others.

Twice a year, in fall and in spring, my neighborhood holds a huge garage sale. On the designated day, all the residents open up their garage doors around 8:30 and begin putting out things they want to get rid of. The event runs from 9:00-1:00 and by 9:30, the streets are clogged with pickup trucks full of "garage sailors" in high spirits and in high hopes of finding bargains.

Since I am now selling CAbi clothes, I wear mostly that clothing line. If I am not wearing CAbi, my store is closed, don't you know? Anyway, I set up a clothing rack in the driveway and put out a ton of newish, stylish, fairly expensive non-CAbi clothing I don't currently have a use for. I had a Ralph Lauren skirt I had never worn, with the tags still on it saying I paid $89 for it. "Would you take two dollars for it?" a woman queried. Honestly, I find garage sales SO depressing. My green Cole Haan sandals went for $4. To a woman who actually understood what she was buying.

I just have to wrap my head around the idea that the point is to GET RID OF THINGS, not to make money. If I cared that much about getting my money back for that skirt, I should have put it on eBay. I bet someone would have given me $30 for it. Never mind.

Most of the visitors to my garage sale are very poor people, for whom English is not their native language. They have never heard of JJill or Talbot's or Coldwater Creek. Those labels mean nothing to them. If the shirt looks like something that will protect their arms from the sun while they are out in the fields picking strawberries, I am happy to give it to them, rather than take the dollar they are able to offer me for it.

So, no. I didn't make much money. I did get rid of a lot of closet clutter and some old bowls that never did fit properly into my kitchen cupboards. My husband got rid of some clunky old electronic equipment and that baby gate I bought to keep Ozzie in the kitchen that was too small for the door opening. So it was good, all in all.

But tell me, would you ever buy anyone's old eye shadows and blushes? Even if they were super cheap? (Ten items for $1). It seems so unhygienic to me, but what do you know, those were the things that went like hot cakes.

Next fall when we do the sale again, I plan to just put everything out in the driveway, close the door and go to the beach until it is over. Folks can just have my cast offs and we will all be better for it.

April 04, 2008

I don't know what possessed me. I was at my Wednesday UFO group at Eddie's Quilting Bee and had planned to work on my Posh Basket blocks. Somehow I had left my half square triangles at home and had to start over and make some more. The book I am using for the block pattern, Basket Bonanza, is a Patchwork Place publication. Patchwork Place is owned by Nancy Martin, a well known quilter and author, whose favorite method of constructing half square triangles is something she called "Bias Squares". All the Patchwork Place publications show this method for making HSTs. I had succumbed to trying this technique about ten years ago and swore I would never do it again. But I did.

First you take two 8 inch squares and layer them right sides both up. You cut it in half diagonally, then move your ruler over 2 1/2 inches and cut again on either sides of the center cut.

Then you alternate the contrasting sections and sew two units as shown below.

Here is one unit all sewn together.

I evened out the left hand edge.

You then use a special ruler created for cutting perfect half square triangle units. There are at least two of them out there, one is called The Bias Square Ruler and the other is The Precision Trimmer. Both tools have diagonal lines to help you get the exact 45 degree seam line angle you need for a perfect half square triangle.

Being a woman who is somewhat spatially challenged, I stared at this unit for quite a while trying to figure out what to do with it next.

My instincts told me to just line the darn ruler up at the 2 1/2 inch mark, with the diagonal line perfectly matched up with the seam line, but noooooooo. That isn't what the book said to do. The instructions in the book had me cut strips first and then cut my half square triangles. Why?

This seemed like a totally useless step to me. At any rate, you can get four extremely accurate, perfect half square triangles out of each of the striped units, eight total out of the two units.

I started this at 10:00, and by 11:30 I had produced four excellent, perfectly beautiful 2 1/2 inch half square triangles. My friends, all extremely talented and experienced quilters were all laughing at me. "Show us again how you did that?" "Why do you want to do it that way?" "I have never heard of anyone doing it like that!" This led to a lively discussion, you can be sure.

After lunch, I went back to the cutting area and followed my instincts and just whacked out the half square triangles without doing the (to me) unnecessary strip cutting step. I did get faster at it and finished cutting the 40 units in a half hour or so.

I know we have talked about how we make our half square triangles before. There are SO many ways to go about it: triangle paper, triangle strips, the Easy Angle ruler, the Angler 2, or (imho the worst method) cutting tons of triangles and sewing them together. The method I keep going back to is the one where you cut 2 7/8 inch squares, draw a diagonal line and sew on each side of your drawn line, then cut on the line for two 2 1/2 inch half square triangle units. Low tech for sure, but all you need is a pencil and a ruler.

Does anyone out there like making half square triangles in the manner I have illustrated today? Do you get faster at it? Is it the accuracy thing that makes it attractive to you? I am willing to be convinced, so talk to me.

Added later: I also read in the Basket Bonanza book that you should use up ALL the leftover fabric by making 1 inch half square triangles out of the remaining fabric and save them up to make a scrap quilt out of all the teensy little half square triangles. Right. I will be doing that for sure.